13 Incredible Benefits of Juniper Essential Oil

The health benefits of juniper essential oil can be attributed to its properties as an antiseptic, sudorific, antirheumatic, depurative, antispasmodic, stimulating, stomachic, astringent, carminative, diuretic, rubefacient, vulnerary, and a tonic substance.

The essential oil of juniper is obtained through steam distillation of the needles, wood and powdered fruits of juniper, bearing the scientific name Juniperus communis. Its main components are alpha-pinene, camphene, beta pinene, sabinene, myrcene, alpha-phellandrene, alpha-terpinene, gamma terpinene, cineole, beta phellandrene, para-cymene, terpineol, bornyl acetate, and caryophyllene. It also has trace amounts of limonene, camphor, linalool, linalyl acetate, borneol, and nerol.

It is used in many industries, as well as to flavor alcoholic beverages like gin. Juniper is an evergreen shrub that is very common in Europe. Smelling nice is great, but there is far more to juniper and its essential oil in terms of impressive health benefits, and that is where our interest lies. Let’s explore some of the impressive qualities and benefits that juniper essential oil can add to your body.

Health Benefits of Juniper Essential Oil

Juniper essential oil has many health benefits, which include the following.

Prevents Sepsis

Juniper essential oil has been a well-known antiseptic in the past and people wounded or injured in wars or athletics were treated with it. It was even used in injuries sustained by both the mother and child during difficult labors. It efficiently protects wounds from becoming septic or developing tetanus.

Fights Arthritis

Juniper essential oil promotes and improves blood circulation. It also helps in the removal of toxins like uric acid from the body. Both of these properties help fight ailments like rheumatism, arthritis, gout, and renal calculi, all of which are related to improper circulation and the accumulation of toxins in the body. This essential oil also relieves swelling.

Relieves Cramps

Juniper essential oil is also effective in nearly all forms of cramps, whether it is muscular, intestinal, respiratory or any other area. It relaxes muscle cramps and helps cure spasmodic cholera as well. Being an antispasmodic, it helps cure many other problems related to cramps or spasms.

Acts as an Astringent

Being an astringent, juniper essential oil helps cure toothaches, stops hair loss, strengthens the grip of gums on your teeth, and protects them from loosening or falling out. It also tightens loose muscles and gives a feeling of firmness, fitness, and youth. This property can also be used to cure diarrhea as well. The most important benefit of this property is in the fact that as an astringent, juniper essential oil can cause blood vessels to contract and thus, reduce the chances of hemorrhaging.

Carminative Agent

Carminative agents help in the removal of gases from the intestines. Gas, when trapped in the intestines and forced upwards, can be very dangerous, and sometimes can even be fatal. When gas pushes upwards, it can choke a person, cause chest pain, indigestion and uneasiness, raise the blood pressure, threaten your heart health, and give acute stomach aches. In this respect, juniper oil can help you a lot. It effectively removes gases through the downward passage and does not let additional gases form. Juniper oil is also very good for those who are suffering from chronic gas troubles.

Purifies Blood

The essential oil of juniper cleans the blood of toxins and thus acts as a detoxifier or blood purifier. This property is also known as depurative, meaning ‘one which purifies’. It helps remove the common toxins like uric acid, heavy metals, pollutants and certain compounds and hormones produced by the body itself. It empties the blood of these common toxins as well as other foreign toxins which get into the blood accidentally.

Promotes Urination

Juniper oil is diuretic in nature, meaning that it promotes urination. It increases both the frequency and volume of urination. Therefore, it is very beneficial for people who are suffering from an accumulation of water in the body, or swelling due to minor or chronic renal failure. It relieves these patients by removing extra water from the body through urine. It also helps people lose weight because each time you urinate, some fats are lost from the body. This reduces blood pressure and removes extra salts and dangerous toxins like uric acid from the body.

Rubefacient

As the name goes, rubefacient means an agent that makes your face look red. However, this is not limited to the face, but also with the rest of the body. Such an agent, when applied to the skin, increases blood circulation just below the skin to such an extent that it begins to look red in color. This may also cause irritation on the skin if applied in excess. Again, increased blood circulation below the skin certainly benefits it and keeps it healthy and well-oxygenated.

Promotes Sweating

A sudorific substance is an agent which can bring about heavy sweating or perspiration. This is nothing to get annoyed at. The occasional perspiration makes you feel lighter and healthier and helps in the removal of toxins, excess salt, and water through sweat. This cleans the skin pores and openings of sweat and sebum glands, which prevents acne and other skin diseases. Juniper oil has powerful sudorific properties.

Acts as a Stimulant

Some of the properties of juniper oil like its abilities as an emmenagogue, galactagogue, and diuretic substance result from a single property of this oil as a stimulant. This stimulating effect helps overcome fatigue, dizziness, and depression. It increases the activity of the brain and neurons, digestive system, excretory system, nervous system, secretions from the endocrine and exocrine glands, which include secretion of milk, sebum, sweat, tears, urine, and discharges during menses.

Treats Stomach Issues

Juniper oil is a stomachic, that is, it keeps the stomach in order and keeps it functioning well. It also helps cure stomach disorders and ulcers and ensures the proper flow of bile, gastric juices and acids into the stomach for digestion. Sometimes, the inner lining of the stomach is injured due to prolonged acidity and ultimately results in the formation of ulcers. Juniper oil can help you avoid this situation since it maintains secretions of bile in the stomach. Bile is basic in nature and neutralizes the acids.

Tonic

Have you ever heard of health tonics? Have you had any? Juniper oil is also considered a tonic, because it tones up everything, including the muscles, tissues, skin, and various other systems inside the body. This includes the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, digestive, and excretory systems. This tonic effect helps retain youth for a long time and maintains proper health for all your years.

Speeds Up Healing Process

If a diluted solution of this oil is applied on wounds or blended with a skin cream and applied, it helps your wounds heal faster and keeps them protected from infections. This oil is equally beneficial in healing internal wounds, cuts, and ulcers.

Kiran Patil is the founder of Organic Facts. He has a keen interest in health, nutrition, and organic living. He completed his B.Tech and M. Tech (Chemical Engineering) from IIT Bombay and has been actively writing about health and nutrition since over past 12 years. When not working he likes to trek and do gardening.

Rate this article

Average rating 4.0 out of 5.0 based on 344 user(s).

Sign-up for wellness newsletter

Do you want the best of science-backed health & nutrition information in your inbox? If yes, please share your email to subscribe.